Triple Threat Almond Cookies

I am about to do something radical. I am going to post this recipe without saying anything first; because I am as sure as I can be that you have eyes for only one thing: the recipe. Except it would be remiss of me not to mention how thankful I am that – after a wildly frustrating weekend making innumerable batches of these glorious, crackle-topped wonders – I finally got it right. The people that blind taste-tested these little dollops of almond joy raved. Then they clamoured for more – and for the recipe – for 3 days straight.

If you were wondering how you were going to survive the holidays without heading into cookie *inSANEity – NOW YOU DON’T HAVE TO. What with these and the Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies, you’re set.
These dreamy almond cookies are slightly dense, moist, and chewy in the middle. They’re almondy enough to knock your socks off. At one point I thought the cookie dough was possessed. By the time I was on the 7th batch, I swear those cookies were trying to kill me. In the end though, *SANEity prevailed. HURRAH!!

Sandie -Thanks for your wonderful post and recipes. I plan on making the almond cookies but want to double check the amount listed for xylitol. Are you sure it’s 10 oz? This would be an enormous amount of sweetner

carrie-Hi Sandie – xylitol is not available in liquid form like Stevia. It is exactly like sugar in volume and taste. In cookies you need the bulk and other sugar-like properties of xylitol, not just it’s ability to sweeten. If you made these cookies with regular sugar, you would use around the smae amount. Actually, my taste-testers said they could stand being a little sweeter – but then none of them has gone SANE, so they still have their super-sweet teeth! Hope that helps.ReplyCancel

Evelyn -Carrie, I LOVE the podcasts you and Jonathon do. Thanks sooooo much!! And thanks for the recipes. Unfortunately, I live in Greece and can’t find a lot of the ingredients. For example, there is no almond butter or almond flour to be found. Can I use flax seed flour and peanut butter instead?? Also there is no xylitol, vanilla syrup or xanthan gum. On second thought, I’ll just stick to some healthy fruit!! Less preservatives, more healthy food. Thanks for helping us out!!!ReplyCancel

carrie-Hi Evelyn – thanks for the podcast love. Sorry you are having trouble sourcing a few of the “odd” ingredients that help us be SANE. Almond flour is also known as ground almonds. You can even make it yourself by grinding blanched (skins removed) almonds very finely in a coffee grinder or similar device. You can also make your own almond butter by putting almonds in your food processor and processing them until they become butter. I have no experience yet with flax seed flour, although it is on my (never-ending) list of things to do!! Yes you can use peanut butter instead. There must be sugar substitutes in Greece that you can use instead of xylitol – ideally you want a non-caloric sweetener that has the same bulk as sugar. I am not familiar with what is available to you, but I am sure the interenet will be your friend here. You can replace the sugar syrup with extra xylitol (or equivalent) and leave out that xanthan gum. The texture will not be as stable without the gum, but it will taste just the same. Hope some or all of this helps!! Please share what you find out about the ingredients if you find them. THANK YOU for your support!!ReplyCancel

Jennifer -Hi Carrie. I am so thankful for you as our SANE baker and chef…I love cooking and appreciate that I can still do so using your recipes after going SANE.

Can you address the cost of xylitol in your cookie recipes (almond & choc espresso)?

I bought an 8oz jar of xylitol (Jarrow Xyli Pure) at my specialty grocery store, and it cost about $10. This makes baking cookies expensive, and one jar wasn’t even enough for the espresso cookie recipe in my recollection!

Do you buy this in bulk? And where? Should I go to my local store for pastry chefs — or online? Is there a particular brand of xylitol you like and keep on hand in bulk?

Thank you so much. Avoiding traditional desserts has been the hardest part of going SANE for me, and I am eager to start baking SANE cookies. Jennifer.ReplyCancel

Look at is as an investment. Your health will improve, and lots of other costs will go down over time…not to mention how much better you will feel = priceless :-)ReplyCancel

Catherine -Hi Carrie, thanks for posting this recipe. Is stevia ok to use instead of xylitol?ReplyCancel

carrie-Hi Catherine – yes, as long as it’s the kind of Stevia that resembles ordinary sugar. You need the volume and other properties, not just the sweetness. The drops won’t work. Hope that helps!ReplyCancel

Catherine -Thats perfect, thanks for replying Carrie :) I think I have that kind of stevia, its certainly not drops buts its quite a feathery and ‘dusty’ like kind of stevia. Will have a look in the box and hopefully it will do the job.ReplyCancel

carrie-Catherine – I have never used Stevia, so I cannot vouch for it’s success. I hate the taste of it, which is why I use Xylitol :-) I hope it works out for you – let us know!ReplyCancel

Jennifer -Thanks for the reply Carrie. That is helpful info! My husband is going to be very amused when a 55 lb bag of xylitol arrives in the mail. :)ReplyCancel

carrie-Your mailman may not love you ;-) This is why I live with cats – they never comment on what shows up in the mail!ReplyCancel

Ladyp1234 -Oh my goodness, the almond hit from these is the most wonderful thing. And my daughter and husband agreed. I had to stop my husband on his 4th cookie as we are all new to xylitol and I wasn’t sure if too much too soon would upset our tummies. I only had 8oz bag of xylitol so added a bit of stevia. I also didn’t have quite enough ground almons so had to grind a whole almonds in blender which left a few lumps which my other daughter didn’t like, soI’m sure she’ll be a fan if I have enough ground almonds next time. I didn’t squash my cookies down enough so they stayed quite thick, but still delicious. Thanks!ReplyCancel

carrie-Hence the name, Lady P! These were a huge hit when I did the blind taste test, so thrilled you made them and love them too :-)ReplyCancel

Cowgirl Rae-Hi Carrie, are you using the higher quality blanched almond flours like is recommended on the gluten free sites? OR are you using the more common almond meal/flours one can buy locally like Bob’s? I have read conflicting info about how they ‘work’ for various baked goods. I suppose a cookie would be different than a bread.

Have you experimented with coconut flour? I bought some and will try something soon. Many of the coconut flour recipes are on the paleo sites and are very heavy on the fats.ReplyCancel

carrie-I get Almond Flour and Meal in bulk from Honeyville and keep it in the freezer. I get through a ton of it! I understand Honeyville Almond Flour is the bomb when it comes to baking with it. I have experimented with coconut flour and I will be doing more, but it is a weird and tricky beast. Watch this space!ReplyCancel

Minna -Hi Carrie,I’ve been following your food blog and listening your podcasts for some time now. Thanks for great recipes! I definitely will try these cookies as soon as I have some time for baking. What could I substitute for the vanilla syrup and the almond extract as I don’t have these ingredients in my cupboard? If I just leave them out, will it not work?
Could you also pls explain what almond meal is? I’m in Britain and use ground almonds (either blanched or with skins on) but I’ve never come across almond meal.ReplyCancel

carrie-Hi Minna – almond flour = blanched ground almonds, almond meal = ground alomnds with the skin on. These will work without the almond extract, but you won’t get the almond flavor punch. You cna leave out the syrup, but you will want to add a little more xylitol to keep the sweetness the same, but the consistency will be different. Let me know how they turn out with the changes! Hope that helps!ReplyCancel

Minna -Thanks Carrie. So it was that simple with almond meal/flour. :) I’ll see if I can find the extract and the syrup (would you know where to get these in Britain?) and if not I’ll try without and let you know how they turn out.ReplyCancel

carrie-Minna – this may help you: http://www.marmaladeandmileposts.com/archives/23109 Almond extract should be readily available at Tesco or Safeway or any other grocery store. For syrups there is a brand of sugar-free syrups on Amazon UK called Sweetbird – check those out! I would also ask in Tesco, Sainsburys etc, if they have syrups. You *might* be able to get them in Starbucks – the Starbucks in the US sell them. Hope that helps!ReplyCancel

MVP -LOVE THESE! Hubby asked me to add white chocolate chunks which tastes awesome (though made them less SANE) but we’re well on the way to getting him more SANE! I like them how your recipe calls though and so does the little one, she doesn’t get to eat any other kinds of cookies so she gets really excited to eat these!

Raye -I’ve made these a few times now- they are my favorite cookie (and that includes the bad sugar & flour options too). Thanks Carrie for all the hard work to create these beauties! I can totally do this forever thanks to you!ReplyCancel

carrie-Raye – THANK YOU so much for your kind words! You make my heart happy.ReplyCancel

Julie -Awesome! Just made these tonight. We have been on a sugar purge and were about to break down. These saved the day! Thank you!ReplyCancel

Julie -I only used half the syrup and they turned out great. They took 15 minutes in my oven to show color and we’re quite chewy. Yum.ReplyCancel

Jeanne -Carrie, how do these keep? Freezer or a sealed tin on the counter? I live alone and the thought of 32 cookies in the house is overwhelming. I might halve the batch.
Please advise.ReplyCancel

carrie-Jeanne – they should freeze well, although I have never had any last long enough to make it to the freezer!ReplyCancel

Lynn -Blimey Carrie, you are a miracle worker. These are amazing!ReplyCancel